perf: optimize c.File with zero-copy support via io.ReaderFrom

Enables zero-copy (sendfile) serving. Disabled when 'After' hooks are present to maintain backward compatibility.

Author: kumapower17

context.go

@@ -613,10 +613,53 @@ func fsFile(c *Context, file string, filesystem fs.FS) error {
 	if !ok {
 		return errors.New("file does not implement io.ReadSeeker")
 	}
-	http.ServeContent(c.Response(), c.Request(), fi.Name(), fi.ModTime(), ff)
+
+	rw := c.Response()
+	// Check if the response can be optimized for ReadFrom (e.g. using sendfile)
+	if res, ok := rw.(*Response); ok && canReadFrom(res) {
+		rw = &responseWithReadFrom{res}
+	}
+
+	http.ServeContent(rw, c.Request(), fi.Name(), fi.ModTime(), ff)
 	return nil
 }
 
+// responseWithReadFrom is a wrapper around Response that implements io.ReaderFrom.
+// This allows http.ServeContent to use sendfile(2) or other zero-copy mechanisms
+// if the underlying ResponseWriter supports it.
+type responseWithReadFrom struct {
+	*Response
+}
+
+func (w *responseWithReadFrom) ReadFrom(src io.Reader) (n int64, err error) {
+	// Bridge the Echo's life-cycle: ensure headers and Before hooks are triggered
+	// before the first byte is sent via zero-copy.
+	if !w.Committed {
+		if w.Status == 0 {
+			w.Status = http.StatusOK
+		}
+		w.WriteHeader(w.Status)
+	}
+	// Delegate to io.Copy which will automatically use the underlying ResponseWriter's
+	// ReadFrom implementation if available (triggering zero-copy).
+	n, err = io.Copy(w.ResponseWriter, src)
+	w.Size += n
+	return n, err
+}
+
+// canReadFrom checks if the response is eligible for ReadFrom optimization.
+func canReadFrom(res *Response) bool {
+	// After hooks are called on every Write. Zero-copy (ReadFrom) would bypass
+	// these calls, so we disable the optimization if any After hooks are registered
+	// to maintain Echo's API semantics.
+	if len(res.afterFuncs) > 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+	// Only enable if the underlying ResponseWriter actually supports ReadFrom.
+	_, ok := res.ResponseWriter.(io.ReaderFrom)
+	return ok
+}
+
 // Attachment sends a response as attachment, prompting client to save the file.
 //
 // Avoid using the leading `/` slash as most of the Go standard library fs.FS implementations require relative paths for

context_file_bench_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+package echo
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func BenchmarkContext_File_RealServer(b *testing.B) {
+	if os.Getenv("ECHO_HEAVY_BENCHMARK") != "true" {
+		b.Skip("skipping heavy benchmark; set ECHO_HEAVY_BENCHMARK=true to run")
+	}
+	e := New()
+	tmpDir := b.TempDir()
+	const benchFileName = "real_bench_data.bin"
+	// 100MB file to observe kernel-level copy savings via sendfile
+	fileSize := 100 * 1024 * 1024
+	content := make([]byte, fileSize)
+	for i := range content {
+		content[i] = byte(i % 256)
+	}
+	_ = os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpDir, benchFileName), content, 0644)
+	e.Filesystem = os.DirFS(tmpDir)
+
+	// Route 1: Optimized path (Standard Echo handles this automatically)
+	e.GET("/optimized", func(c *Context) error {
+		return c.File(benchFileName)
+	})
+
+	// Route 2: Non-optimized path (Disables optimization by registering an After hook)
+	e.GET("/standard", func(c *Context) error {
+		c.Response().(*Response).After(func() {})
+		return c.File(benchFileName)
+	})
+
+	// Use a real TCP server to exercise the kernel's sendfile(2) path through ReadFrom.
+	ts := httptest.NewServer(e)
+	defer ts.Close()
+
+	client := ts.Client()
+
+	b.Run("Zero-Copy-Optimized", func(b *testing.B) {
+		url := ts.URL + "/optimized"
+		b.ReportAllocs()
+		b.SetBytes(int64(fileSize))
+		b.ResetTimer()
+		for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+			resp, err := client.Get(url)
+			if err != nil {
+				b.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, resp.Body)
+			resp.Body.Close()
+		}
+	})
+
+	b.Run("User-Space-Standard", func(b *testing.B) {
+		url := ts.URL + "/standard"
+		b.ReportAllocs()
+		b.SetBytes(int64(fileSize))
+		b.ResetTimer()
+		for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+			resp, err := client.Get(url)
+			if err != nil {
+				b.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, resp.Body)
+			resp.Body.Close()
+		}
+	})
+}

context_file_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+package echo
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"testing/iotest"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+// mockReadFromWriter implements io.ReaderFrom to trigger the optimization path
+type mockReadFromWriter struct {
+	*httptest.ResponseRecorder
+	readFromCalled bool
+}
+
+func (m *mockReadFromWriter) ReadFrom(r io.Reader) (int64, error) {
+	m.readFromCalled = true
+	// Simulate sendfile/optimized copy
+	return io.Copy(m.ResponseRecorder, r)
+}
+
+// mockSimpleResponseWriter ONLY implements http.ResponseWriter (no ReadFrom)
+// This is used as a control group to force the original non-optimized path.
+type mockSimpleResponseWriter struct {
+	*httptest.ResponseRecorder
+}
+
+const readFromTestFile = "readfrom_test_data.txt"
+
+func TestContext_File_ReadFrom_Optimization(t *testing.T) {
+	e := New()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	content := "hello optimization parity check content"
+	err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpDir, readFromTestFile), []byte(content), 0644)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	e.Filesystem = os.DirFS(tmpDir)
+
+	t.Run("Verify optimization triggers and parity", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Use e.NewContext and c.File for end-to-end functional parity check.
+		req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/", nil)
+
+		// 1. Optimized Path Group
+		recOpt := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		mwOpt := &mockReadFromWriter{ResponseRecorder: recOpt}
+		cOpt := e.NewContext(req, mwOpt)
+		assert.NoError(t, cOpt.File(readFromTestFile))
+		resOpt := cOpt.Response().(*Response)
+
+		// 2. Original Path Group (Control)
+		recOri := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		mwOri := &mockSimpleResponseWriter{ResponseRecorder: recOri}
+		cOri := e.NewContext(req, mwOri)
+		assert.NoError(t, cOri.File(readFromTestFile))
+		resOri := cOri.Response().(*Response)
+
+		// ASSERTIONS:
+		assert.True(t, mwOpt.readFromCalled, "Optimized path MUST trigger ReadFrom")
+		assert.Equal(t, recOri.Code, recOpt.Code, "httptest.Recorder Code parity")
+		assert.Equal(t, recOri.Body.String(), recOpt.Body.String(), "Body content parity")
+
+		// Echo Response State Parity
+		assert.Equal(t, resOri.Status, resOpt.Status, "Response.Status parity")
+		assert.Equal(t, resOri.Size, resOpt.Size, "Response.Size parity")
+		assert.Equal(t, resOri.Committed, resOpt.Committed, "Response.Committed parity")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("ReadFrom: Custom Status already set", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Manually construct the wrapper to bypass http.ServeContent's side effects
+		// and surgically verify the Status/Before-hook bridging logic in ReadFrom.
+		rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		mw := &mockReadFromWriter{ResponseRecorder: rec}
+		res := &Response{ResponseWriter: mw}
+		w := &responseWithReadFrom{res}
+
+		res.Status = http.StatusCreated
+		n, err := w.ReadFrom(strings.NewReader("test data"))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, int64(9), n)
+		assert.Equal(t, http.StatusCreated, rec.Code)
+		assert.True(t, res.Committed)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("ReadFrom: Already committed", func(t *testing.T) {
+		req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/", nil)
+		rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		mw := &mockReadFromWriter{ResponseRecorder: rec}
+		c := e.NewContext(req, mw)
+
+		c.Response().WriteHeader(http.StatusAccepted) // Commit here
+		assert.NoError(t, c.File(readFromTestFile))
+
+		assert.True(t, mw.readFromCalled)
+		assert.Equal(t, http.StatusAccepted, rec.Code)
+		// Body should still be written because ServeContent continues after WriteHeader
+		assert.Contains(t, rec.Body.String(), "hello optimization")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("ReadFrom: IO Error during Copy", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Directly test the wrapper to verify state updates (Size, Committed)
+		// when an error occurs during the transfer.
+		errReader := iotest.ErrReader(io.ErrUnexpectedEOF)
+
+		res := &Response{ResponseWriter: &mockReadFromWriter{ResponseRecorder: httptest.NewRecorder()}}
+		w := &responseWithReadFrom{res}
+
+		n, err := w.ReadFrom(errReader)
+		assert.ErrorIs(t, err, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF)
+		assert.Equal(t, int64(0), n)
+		assert.Equal(t, int64(0), res.Size)
+		assert.True(t, res.Committed)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Hook Compatibility: Before hook triggers on ReadFrom", func(t *testing.T) {
+		req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/", nil)
+		rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		mw := &mockReadFromWriter{ResponseRecorder: rec}
+		c := e.NewContext(req, mw)
+
+		beforeTriggered := false
+		c.Response().(*Response).Before(func() {
+			beforeTriggered = true
+		})
+
+		assert.NoError(t, c.File(readFromTestFile))
+		assert.True(t, mw.readFromCalled)
+		assert.True(t, beforeTriggered, "Before hook must be called even on ReadFrom path")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Hook Compatibility: After hook disables ReadFrom", func(t *testing.T) {
+		req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/", nil)
+		rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		mw := &mockReadFromWriter{ResponseRecorder: rec}
+		c := e.NewContext(req, mw)
+
+		afterCalls := 0
+		c.Response().(*Response).After(func() {
+			afterCalls++
+		})
+
+		assert.NoError(t, c.File(readFromTestFile))
+		assert.False(t, mw.readFromCalled, "ReadFrom must be DISABLED when After hooks exist")
+		assert.True(t, afterCalls > 0, "After hooks must be triggered via standard Write path")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Error Parity: 416 Invalid Range", func(t *testing.T) {
+		req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/", nil)
+		req.Header.Set("Range", "bytes=100-200")
+
+		rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		mw := &mockReadFromWriter{ResponseRecorder: rec}
+		c := e.NewContext(req, mw)
+
+		assert.NoError(t, c.File(readFromTestFile))
+		assert.Equal(t, http.StatusRequestedRangeNotSatisfiable, rec.Code)
+		assert.Equal(t, http.StatusRequestedRangeNotSatisfiable, c.Response().(*Response).Status)
+	})
+}